3-3-2Grassroots Peace Movements

During the post-war occupation, a peace movement grew out of the suffering caused by nuclear weapons. The Bikini Incident in 1954 catalyzed a great expansion of these actions. In August the following year, the first World Conference against Atomic and Hydrogen Bombs was held in Hiroshima. In 1957, the first sit-in in front of the Cenotaph for the A-bomb Victims was held to protest a nuclear test, a form of protest that continues to this day. Hiroshima’s wide range of peace activities includes communicating the reality of A-bomb-related afflictions and survivor experiences to future generations. In addition, Hiroshima physicians offer medical help to residents living close to nuclear test sites in the former Soviet Union and to those exposed to radiation by the Chernobyl nuclear accident.